Géographie du Perche et Chronologie de ses Comtes

This is a translation of a book review which appeared in 1903.
The review is made available on the Internet site "Persée".
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of French language specialists in humanitarian subjects on the Internet.
To obtain the original (French) review, google ...... persee" + "Géographie du Perche"

....... Our collegue Monsieur le Vicomte de Romanet finally publishes the Historic Geography of the Perche, upon which he has been labouring for
nearly 20 years. This is a major work, due to the long and patient research into local archives, a work of solid intelligence, calm and clear, reminding
us of similar works of yester-year, which the provinces offer us from time to time, although infrequently. The word Perche, which defined, about the
year 600, and probably even earlier, a vast forest situated between the tribes of Gaul, Carnutes and Aulerces, and referring to no defined political
or administrative area, situated between the County of Corbon (or Mortagne), the Baronry of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais, the County and Bishopry
of Chartres, the Viscountcy of Châteaudun, and the County of Vendôme. In the second part of the XI th century, one of the powerful lords of the
[Perche] area, already possessing the County of Corbon, and the lordship of Nogent-le-Rotrou, and who had become master of the majority of the
ancient forest of the Perche, took upon himself a new title, that of Count of the Perche, which now clearly designated the afore-mentioned region,
and defined the existence of a new County, although effectively occupying a little more than half of the said territory. Monsieur de Romanet is thus
the first to establish the distinction between the geographical region called the Perche, and the county, authority, and province of the Perche,
which, we must all agree, in no way coincide. The limits of our definition are indicated in his work, by the complete list of the parishes which
make up the County and the Province of the Perche.

In the second part of his work, the author examines the formation of the County of the Perche, the chronology of its Counts, together with those
of the lordship of Bellême. M. de Romanet brings proof of the non-existence of Agombert (or Albert), Hervé and Etienne, up to this date classified
as Counts of Perche. Our historian studies the diverse modes of transformation of the administrative county, and the feudal state [of the region],
and explains the creation of the County of the Perche at the end of the XI th century, by the lineage of its first Counts. M. de Romanet shows
clearly the confusion established by Bry de la Clergerie ..... between the first Counts of Perche and the Lords of Bellême. Bry de la Clergerie was
a lawyer at Bellême, .... and his local leanings, however praiseworthy, brought him to interpret documents in such a manner as to define the Lords
of Bellême as Counts of Perche. M. de Romanet notes the family ties between Guillaume, last of the Percheron Counts, to the future heirs, among
them Blanche de Castille, thus explaing the intervention, hitherto unjustified, of King Louis, in matters concerning the succession of the Perche, and
the incorporation of the domain into the [French] crown. The extensive research required for such a work were all carried out in situ, and we find a
deep understanding of numerous details of the local history and geography. This is what gives solidity to the work. This is what will confer upon this
work, an appreciable addition to those who are interested in this region, which played such an important role in the history of France.